Web Series Festivals and Awards

Los Angeles

WHAT: The Web Show ShowSITE: www.TheWebShowShow.com. And HERE is an article about the show on Tangled Web.ABOUT: The Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica hosts The Web Show Show.They screen episodes of six different series on their HD projector for a panel of industry pro judges, who offer FEEDBACK. This is a GREAT opportunity to have digital creators with BIG followings review your work, and potentially to gain them as a fan! Tweet them a thank you afterward and who knows, they might tweet your episode or sketch out.

WHAT: International Press Academy Satellite AwardsSITE:www.pressacademy.comABOUT: Each year the International Press Academy (IPA) honors artistic excellence in the areas of Motion Pictures, Television, Radio, and New Media via the Satellite® Awards. 2013 will be their FIRST year recognizing New Media.

WHAT: LA WebFestSITE:http://www.lawebfest.comABOUT: This is like the public school of web series. The accept a huge amount of series at many levels of production. It’s a great way to network with other creators and the panels are usually very informative. The event is still quite disorganized, however, and most disappointingly, your episodes will screen on a small projector screen in one of many hotel conference rooms.

WHAT: Hollyweb FestSITE:www.HollywebFestival.com ABOUT: Created in 2012, HollyWeb aims to honor web series creators for all of their hard work. Unlike LA WebFest, Hollyweb shows your series on a CINEMA SIZE screen – which is awesome. It is much more well organized than LaWebFest and smaller in scope. The panels are not quite as good as good, however. There are trophies and cash prizes.

Check out Stephanie’s interview with the 2013 Hollyweb Winner for BEST comedy series, Amy Matisyo for her show InSAYSHAble.

WHAT: Streamy AwardsSITE: www.Streamys.orgABOUT: The Streamy Awards is a fan-attended live event sponsored by Tubefilter.com, with awards presented to top-tier new media talent in over thirty categories, including two audience choice awards determined by fan voting. It costs a bunch to enter and they mostly focus on viral YouTube sensations and big budget shows, but it’s definitely the most professional awards show in web programming.

WHAT: The Austin Film FestivalSITE: www.austinfilmfestival.com/digital-seriesABOUT: This is one of the best film and TV festivals for new voices to get discovered and to hob nob with some of Hollywood’s greatest creators. If you are a finalist in the Film & TV categories, you get flown out. Semi finalists get a discount. There are tons of great panels and screenings. It’s pretty exciting that 2015 will be the first year AFF holds a competition for digital series. You can submit a finished product or a script. I highly recommend this one.

San Francisco

WHAT: The SF Web FestSITE: www.sfwebfest.com.ABOUT: Lots of categories to submit to. Nice digs. Check out their site for more info. Their slogan is: “Where tech dates cinema”

France

WHAT: Marseille Web FestWHERE: Marseilles, FranceSITE:http://www.marseillewebfest.comABOUT: Every year, the Marseilles web fest chooses 25 series from around the world and flies the creator to Marseilles ALL EXPENSES PAID! There is actually an award at the LA Web Fest that you can win and be flown to this festival as well. Selected shows often have opportunities for distribution in Europe. This is one of the most exciting and forward thinking festivals.

Austin

WHAT: Austin WebFestSITE:www.AustinWebFestival.comABOUT: The Austin WebFest (AWF) is an LLC organization that provides a venue for international film artist to compete against one another in a friendly atmosphere, while showcasing their web series. This festival is just starting out, but it’s got a team of organized, passionate people at the helm and is likely to have a good future ahead.

Melbourne

WHAT: Melbourne WebFestSITE:www.MelbourneWebFest.comABOUT: A panel of professional judges will choose 30 series that will form that years Official Selection. These series will automatically be nominated for our awards. An additional 20 series will selected for a ‘Second Look’ category, which will also be screened during the festival and profiled through our network, however they will not receive award nominations.

WHAT: International Academy of Web Television Awards (IAWTV Awards)WHERE: Las VegasSITE: www.iawtvawards.orgABOUT: A member must nominate you. The (IAWTV) was founded in 2008 and is devoted to the advancement of the arts and sciences of web television production. Membership is by invitation only and members represent a cross-section of roles and specialties in web television production.

WHAT: NYTVF (New York Television Festival)WHEN: SeptemberDEADLINES: Pilots: February-June; Scripts: June. Bing: December. Competitions vary each year, check website.WHERE: New YorkSITE:http://www.nytvf.comABOUT: Web series heavy festival for professional, often independent, material. Brings in people from the industry, sometimes leading to deals for content creators.

WHAT: Internet WeekSITE:http://www.internetweekny.comABOUT: Big conference/festival focusing on New York’s web industry in all its forms. There are speeches, parties, workshops and how-to sessions which may be of interest to web series/video creators.

WHAT: FirstGlance Film FestivalWHERE: Los Angeles, PhiladelphiaSITE:http://www.firstglancefilms.comABOUT: Bi-coastal film festival screening and awarding projects of various lengths and formats, including web series pilots (sponsored by Koldcast in 2011).

WHAT: Queer Black Cinema International Film Festival (QBC Fest)SITE:http://www.queerblackcinema.orgABOUT: Focuses on independent films by and about queer, LGBT people of color and has screened web series in the past.